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Ten Plus Twenty
Ten Plus Twenty is the eighth episode of the first season of Back in Action: Alien Universe. Story 'Part I' open with Nigester's outstretched arm smacking Nightcaster down a street in Downtown Bellwood, surrounded by a crowd of Super Ben fans kept away from the battle itself by Bellwood police officers. With Nightcaster knocked out, Nigester transforms into Obsorber. He creates a metal airless box around Nightcaster, knowing he doesn't need it to breath, but does need to be able to escape a trap to teleport. Obsorber stands before his fans, calming them. Obsorber: Well, all you Super Ben fans, which alien do you want to see today before I require you guys to leave the vicinity? Fans (yelling out an assortment of names, but ending with the chanting of a single alien's name): Ditto, Ditto, Ditto! Obsorber: Oh, have all of you seen my battle with Dr. Animo somehow? Whatever, Ditto it is! Smacks the Omnitrix on his chest. Ditto (raising his hands, and splitting in two): Yes, thank you, my great fans! Bows as the fans cheer him on for the transformation. Alright, everybody, follow Officer Gamby and his team away from here. Time to finish the job here. The crowd respects the Dittos' wish, and follow a few officers standing by, the whole of the officers led by a heavy black man in the standard blue officer's uniform and cap. Meanwhile, Ditto touches his finger to the Omnitrix, unifies, and hails the Plumbers. Yeah, Omnitrix, I'm going to need you to call the Plumbers, whether it's Patelliday or whoever. Maybe a friend? Cooper even? We need to lock up Nightcaster, apparently the guy's been walking through time trying to eliminate Azmuth, smartest being in, like, 10 galaxies. Omnitrix: Command received. Distress call sent to nearest Plumbers. Ditto: Great. Now I'll have to wait here till they come back. Runs over to the metal cage created by Obsorber and knocks on it. You better know you're not getting out of there until you get to jail or something, Nightcaster. No response. Yeah, you better not say anything... Three Plumbers' ships appear out of nowhere in the air over the street. Two of them surround the center one, likely housing the captain for the teams as it is much larger than the others. The two smaller ships land around the cage, and Plumbers ranging from Human to Piscciss Volann to Kineceleran march out with blasters in-hand. They arrive at Ditto's side. Ditto: Hey, guys. I got the scary shadow bad guy in here. I'd ask you guys for a medal, but I'm pretty sure my closet's full of 'em by now. Blonde Human Male Plumber: It's fine, Mr. Tennyson. This was a basic job and medal distribution is undoubtedly unnecessary. Ditto: I'll take it you're the captain, then? Blonde Human Male Plumber (placing his blaster in a weapons pouch mounted on his back, hailing a few other Plumbers to haul Nightcaster's cage over to his ship): No, Mr. Tennyson, she would have to be on the last ship left airborne. In the background, the captain's ship's descent can be seen. As it touches down, smoke fills the surrounding area when the door is opened and the stairs are let out. Ditto: "She"? Oh, please don't tell me it's-- Female Captain: Ben, am I happy to see you! Runs over to Ditto and gives him a big hug, despite having to bend down to do so. She appears to be a human. Her uniform is much like Helen's, but she wears a Kineceleran helmet and has visible black skin through her gloves. Ditto: You! Female Captain: What, you don't remember my name, Ben? Ditto: I do, but I didn't exactly mean to invite you here, (the Female Captain removes her helmet, revealing a black--as in, dark brown--human face, long black hair over her head, green eyes, a nose like Gwen's, and lips of a bit of a darker shade than Gwen's as well) Karin. Karin: After so many dates with me like this, I would've been pretty mad if you didn't remember this look. Ditto: Please, do get mad, leave even. Karin (getting back up on her feet): You're funny, Ben. It looks like my squad's got Nightcaster bottled up in their ship properly. You need anything else? Ditto: Yeah, can you guys get a containment suit on him? Lightning strikes behind Ditto, leading to Karin's squad, Karin herself, as well as Ditto, averting their attention to the blast in broad daylight. They find that a small glowing ball has appeared where on the ground the lightning struck. It shrinks, until it's the form of a Galvan, of Azmuth. Azmuth: Well, hello, Ben. Ditto (excited): Azmuth! Now without any tone of excitement. What in the world are you doing here? I thought Nightcaster was keeping you locked up somewhere. I was going to interrogate him as soon as he was locked up. Azmuth: No, no, don't make it top priority to ask him before you caged him. I was in his clutches, inside him, when you killed him. Ditto: Killed him?! No way, all I did was knock him down the block a bit. Azmuth: Nightcaster's quite fragile around his species. War on his own planet, when it existed, was rare, as it would normally lead to both parties' destruction, unless one had ended up with some form of armor. Ditto: So, wait, how do you know so much about his home now? A few days ago you didn't even know what Nightcaster was. Azmuth: Research, Ben. When he managed his way into my headquarters, his DNA was scanned, put in the Hidden Universe's Codon Stream, and sent to be reviewed in my lab. This was no ordinary review, though. When you killed him, I asked Paradox to give me a week to look over all the details. I only needed about a few hours to assess that he's of a species from a galaxy no Galvan has ever even heard of, and his home world has long since been destroyed. Believe it or not, he never did make it to those very few years ago where we battled again. Their life span is about a few thousand years, and the original Nightcaster, Nightcaster the first, was half-Anodite. He gave birth to two children, Nightcaster the second and Raycaster. Karin: Alright, enough of the story, Galvan, what's his family history got to do with him now. He's dead. Ditto: I've got to agree with Karin on this one. Azmuth: It's just trivia. But hear me out. Nightcaster's last name is Arkvarius, a once-royal surname on his species' home world. Raycaster Arkvarius was born nearly 1000 years ago, and Nightcaster died 800 years ago. Nightcaster the second took his father's place of hunting me for the last two millennia, while Raycaster sought a life of good. He took on a new first name, "Murmadan," took refuge here on Earth. Raycaster sought better control over his powers after you and your future self stopped him. In 20 years, when he is left out of his imprison, he will seek out forgiveness from everyone he's harmed, and Paradox will agree to help him by making him his servant. To disguise his existence from you, Raycaster became known as "Long Ron Silver." Karin: Wait a second, the knight I saw Tennyson and his team with when we came to pick Dr. Crazy-in-a-bottle? Azmuth: If you're referring to the human Dr. Animo, then yes. That knight was indeed Long Ron Silver, son of Nightcaster. Nightcaster did some good in his life, like protecting Earth, but he lied to his two childrens for a long time. He made them think they were just simple mana-harnessing aliens with unique powers from Ledger Domain, but they were not. They were born in Ledger Domain, and their powers were unique, but not to the entire universe, just Ledger Domain itself. Nightcaster's children were born there, but Nightcaster himself was not. Ditto: Whoa...that's a great story, Azmuth. But...you mean last week, Murmadan helped me fight Animo? Azmuth: Precisely. Ditto: Wow...and you came here to tell me all this, and just that? Nothing else? Azmuth: Well, there is something else. I'd like to remove Nigester from your Omnitrix. Ditto: Wait, what?! Nigester the king of kicking bad, or killing bad in this case. Why would I let you take him away? Imagine how much good it could mean to have him. Azmuth: There is a lot of good, Ben, but there are hazards. It turns out, the only way my headquarters was able to scan a copy of Nightcaster that was stable enough for use in the Omnitrix was to force the DNA it copied to reproduce. Nigester is actually Nightcaster the second's son. Ditto: Eww, no way. Alright, take him. He drops on his stomach with his forehead available for Azmuth to control the Omnitrix. He turns the dial a couple times in either direction, with Karin in the background tapping her foot. Her squad has loaded Nightcaster's cage into their ship and is waiting to say bye to Ben. Exceedingly impatient, she decides she'll take off without a hug goodbye. Karin: Ben, I have to go. Ditto: Alright, bye. Karin shows an expression of annoyance from his simply response and boards her ship. The captain's ship leading the other two, the Plumbers speed off. At the same time, the Omnitrix completes the removal of Nigester. Omnitrix: DNA sample of unrecognized DNA sample in playlist 7 removed. Azmuth: Good, all is good. You can stand up. Ditto: Gonna need a little help. Splits in to another Ditto that comes out with his back on the floor. He stands up, and pulls the original Ditto back on his feet. Thanks, man. Ditto (#2): No problem, man. High-fives the original. Azmuth: It appears the locals have a few questions for you. Ditto (both in unison): Huh? Azmuth points in the direction the Dittos' backs are facing. They turn their heads to see a crowd of news anchors, interviewers, and even fans coming towards the two with microphones. They turn back around to Azmuth, but he's already teleported away. One woman in an all-red anchorwomen's ensemble approaches the Ditto's, placing her microphone between the two's heads. Anchorwomen: So, Ben Tennyson, you've defeated aliens, but even though you aren't of age to vote, what is your view on the upcoming presidential election? Ditto (#1): Well, I've always been one for the Republican party. Ditto (#2): And I've always been one for the Democrats. Anchorwomen: Well, which one of you symbolizes the truth behind the real Ben Tennyson's opinion? Ditto (both in unison, facing each other): Only one way to find out! A third Ditto splits out of #1's body. Anchorwomen: And would you be the extraterrestrial embodiment of Ben Tennyson? Ditto (#3): Sure. Anchorwomen: So, what do you expect in the presidential election? Which is *your* party? Ditto (#3): Well, Diane--can I call you Diane? Anchorwomen: My name is Whitney. Ditto (#3): Alright, Helen. Well, you see, if there's any party I'm always for, it's got to be...He takes a long pause. Anchorwomen Whitney: Yes, yes? Ditto (#3): It'd have to be a house party! All three of the Ditto's become hysterical with laughter. They all high-five each other, then morph back into one. As they do so, the remaining Ditto transforms into Echo Echo then Ultimate Echo Echo. Ultimate Echo Echo: See you all again sometime. This was truly entertaining. Flies off into the skies. He watches from overhead the commotion where he had just been, reports angrily stomping off to their vans and driving off, but suddenly, everything slows to a stop--everything, except himself, who continues to fly on. Huh? Oh. Oh, please no. We really don't need to have another of these--'Suddenly, the world around Ultimate Echo Echo, like glass being broken, shatters, leaving black nothingness behind him. He stops flying, and manages to drop on his feet on a platform that blends in with the black area.' Voice from behind Ultimate Echo Echo: Hello, Ben. Ultimate Echo Echo: Oh, please, no. Turns around to see Professor Paradox, strolling up to him. Professor Paradox: Boy, has it been a while. Ultimate Echo Echo: Yeah, a while since you put me on a mission to stop zombies with the enemy. Professor Paradox: Ex-enemy, or rather, to-be ex-enemy. At this very moment, his present self is attempting escape on Chronospect. It'll be a while before he figures out he won't be making it out until his designated time. Ultimate Echo Echo: Are you ever going to tell me how Chronospect works? Professor Paradox: Probably, either when you visit or unlock Atomhammer. I cannot remember which one comes first with you. Ultimate Echo Echo: Thanks, because I'm pretty sure you remember everything with pretty great detail. Professor Paradox: No spoilers, Ben. Anything I say could alter your future, and you'd like to turn into the Ben that saved your life and Elena's life back in the Vyvid, yes? Ultimate Echo Echo: Wait, did you just say Elena? I didn't--or, I won't--save Elena's life. Professor Paradox: Oh, did I say that? Do pardon me. With age and knowing so many people across crosstime, I do mix names up. Ultimate Echo Echo: Okay, then. Professor Paradox: But know this, Ben, you will save Elena's life a lot in the future, time and time again, as a matter of fact. Ultimate Echo Echo: Great...Guess I can't stop it not knowing when it'll happen. Professor Paradox: Precisely. Now, I believe you'd like to know why you're here. Ultimate Echo Echo: Kinda. With time frozen and me stuck wherever we are, I really don't have any other choice but to know what the task for today is. Professor Paradox: Great to see that type of enthusiasm in you, Ben. A gleaming yellow portal appears next to Ultimate Echo Echo, subtly sucking air in from the area. Please enter this portal and all you need to know will be explained. While inside, I'd recommend you transform into Rath. Ultimate Echo Echo: Great, another battle. Professor Paradox: I didn't say that. Ultimate Echo Echo: But you didn't not say it. I guess I better get ready then. Faces the portal. So, just go in this? Professor Paradox: Of course. You, first, Benjamin. Ultimate Echo Echo: Alright...Jumps in, followed by the portal closing up. Professor Paradox: I sometimes doubt the intelligence of that boy. After all my time with him, he still can't spot a trick of mine a mile away. I guess he must deal with what's on the other side of the portal, (pulls out his pocket watch, and opens it up) just on schedule, too. He flashes away. open on a night in Downtown Bellwood. The other end of the yellow portal opens up a few inches over the street, shooting Rath out of the portal, Ben having transformed midway through. He arrives on all fours, but after growling at the nothing in front of him, the portal closes, and he stands up straight. Rath: Paradox lied! Threw Rath in here on his own. Guess Rath gotta fight somebody now, don't he? Charmcaster flashes into the area, hovering a few inches over the street herself, donning a new pink cape. Oh look it's Charmcaster! Looking for a beatdown while Rath pulls your cape?! Charmcaster: Has your voice changed, Rath? It seems a bit more masculine today. Rath: What?! Rath's voice's always been like this! Running on all fours towards Charmcaster now. Stop distracting Rath, Charmcaster! Charmcaster: You seem off your game, a bit. Maybe you need a spark. She blasts, with one hand, at Rath, missing him as he flips away from the blast and closer to her. Advancing on me, ey? Guess you've got a better understanding of how to control that tiger alien thing. Rath: Stop talking to Rath like he has no experience! Rath's been fighting you like this for two years! Cut some slack! Charmcaster: You're a smart person, I expected you to have mastered this thing's powers, but I guess not. Kamm! A small, glowing pink ball of mana floats out of the ground, hovering over Rath's head. It floats there for a few seconds, but Rath, out of curiosity, eventually tries to grab it, only ending up being electrocuted by it and knocked over onto his back. As he tried to cock himself back up, he merely lifts his head, getting a glimpse of his car driving up towards Charmcaster. Rath: Hey, Rath's car! As he tries to stand back up, the mana ball continues to halt his progress by shocking him. He watches as his car makes it up to a few inches away from Charmcaster, before drifting to a stop. Its shape then changes to that of a Galvanic Mechamorph. A Glovini--'(is shocked)' A Galvi--'(is shocked once more)' An Upgrade?! Why Rath's car?! He is shocked one more time. Charmcaster: Who's this, a clone of yours? Maybe Echo Echo transformed into Upgrade? Again with one hand, she seeks to blast the Galvanic Mechamorph, who shoots into the air at her, but she still misses, this time purely due to poor aim. The Mechamorph, high enough in the air, shoots an electric green blast at Charmcaster, pushing her deep into the ground. The Mechamorph rushes over to Rath's side, but doesn't seek to help him. The Mechamorph's body changes into that of a female's, and notable now on her chest is the Omnitrix symbol. Rath: Hey, where'd you get that cheap knock-off? Female Upgrade (in a voice like Myaxx's): Where'd you get yours? Rath: Rath's is the real deal, whoever you are. Take yours off and watch the hero show you how it's done! Runs over to Charmcaster, fallen but returning to strength, and swipes at her, scratching a cut into her face. Angered by the attack, she blasts him, with two hands this time, knocking him back about 10 feet. Even when he lays on his back now, smoke made of what appears to be mana flows from Rath's body. Female Upgrade (facing Charmcaster): Not sure who this person is, but he seems to be on my side. Time to finish you off. Transforms into a Female Terraspin as Charmcaster attempts to bombard her with mana attacks. Female Terraspin: Sorry, this species is immune to mana. You should know that after so many battles where you swore you knew everything about every one of my aliens. As Charmcaster fires one last disc-shaped mana blast at the Female Terraspin, but the blast is reflected with gusts from the alien. Charmcaster falls once more, the Female Terraspin transforms into XLR8, rushes over to Charmcaster, transforms into Obsorber, whose body is shaped more like a model's, and creates shackles around her wrists. One more transformation into Manodite (or more appropriately, Womanodite) binds the shackles to Charmcaster, inhibiting Charmcaster's powers. Rath, finally able to get back up on his feet, sees Womanodite hover over to him as her Omnitrix beeps and glows red. When the Womanodite finally reaches him, her Omnitrix times out, revealing the user to be--''' Rath: Gwen Tennyson?! '''OF PART I 'Part II' is standing before Gwen in her familiar blue-topped uniform, with the Omnitrix latched onto her left wrist. Rath: How does Gwen Tennyson have the Omnitrix? The Omnitrix belongs to Rath! Gwen: Nice try, Albedo. I'm not sure how you managed to transform into an Appoplexian, get out of jail, or get a green hourglass on your Omnitrix, but I'm removing your watch right now. Raises her arm towards Rath's Omnitrix, but Rath defends himself by hitting Gwen's wrist. Rath: Stop it, Gwen Tennyson. It's Rath, I mean, it's--'Smacks the Omnitrix with the side of his left fist, reverting back to human.' Ben: It's me, Ben, how could you think it was Albedo? Gwen: I don't know what trick you're pulling or who you are behind that mask but time to show yourself. Puts her wrists together, the opposite sides of her hands facing opposite directions, and faces Ben. Nemi Concealus! She claps, and a wave of mana shoots in the surrounding area, knocking Ben over onto his feet. Ben's Omnitrix responds by shooting pink sparks. Ben's Omnitrix: Anodite energy detected in range. Gwen: Hey, that's a real Omnitrix! Where'd you get it? Who are you? Ben: Don't you see me, Gwen? It's me! Gwen: But it can't be. Raises her left arm, pulling down her sleeve to reveal the entirety of her Assault Omnitrix, which exactly mirrors Ben's. I have the Omnitrix, and Zenith said if he needs to make any adjustments that he'd send the upgrades to me. It's kinda part of the new system he worked out. Ben: What are you talking about? I've had the Omnitrix for the last 7 years, give or take the few I had it off for, but-- Gwen: Wait, I know who you are now. Ben: You should, I'm your cousin, the one you've known for, like, ever. Gwen: No, you're not my cousin. Ben: Yes, I-- Gwen: Listen. You're not my cousin, but you are Ben Tennyson, just not the Ben Tennyson from around here. Ben: Uh, explain? Gwen: Welcome to my timeline, Ben 10. Ben: You must have me confused, I'm Super Ben. Gwen: Oh. Even better. Puts her arm out for a handshake. I'm Gwen, Gwen Twenty, wielder of the Omnitrix in this timeline. Ben awkwardly shakes her hand. Don't be shy. I know who you are, and you're a lot like me. The two withdraw their handshake. Ben: But...I've never heard of a "Gwen Twenty," only a Gwen 10. Gwen: Yeah...like with you, there's kind of a main timeline version of each wielder of the Omnitrix. Like Ben 10 is the original you, Gwen 10 is the original for me and all the alternates existing throughout crosstime. Ben: So...why not Super Gwen? Gwen: Well, I guess I never really had the same experiences you did. I believe Paradox said you thought of that from Ultra Ben, a fantasy you had while you were 10. Both you and the original share that memory, but you were fonder of it. Ben: Paradox sure has said a lot about me, but nothing about you. Gwen: It's fine. We've met now, and it's way cooler meeting an alternate in person than being constantly told about how amazing they are. Ben: Wait, (Puts on a great big grin, one that he cannot conceal as hard as he tries) Paradox calls me amazing? I thought Ben 10 was his favorite. Gwen: Well, that's the thing with him. I can never really tell. There's a whole bunch of different Paradox's out there, and I can never tell the difference between them all. It's like they all met at some point and agreed to wear the same clothes and act nearly exactly the same, except with how they express their opinions for each wielder of the Omnitrix, or whoever they're acquainted with. Ben: Whoa, really? You mean I might have met more Paradox's than one in the last 2 years? Gwen: It's possible. I'm not saying I'm sure about this, but it sure is possible. I've noticed it with the ones that have met me though. Ben: You've got to teach me their differences, then. Gwen: Will do, at another time. Mind telling me why you're here? Ben: I don't, but to be honest, I don't even know why I'm here. Gwen: Huh? Ben: I shoved off a few interviewers in *my* Bellwood, flew away as Ultimate Echo Echo, and suddenly I was in his endless room that crosses time. He told me to go in through this portal and that he'd follow me, but I guess it was a trick, because here I am now, alone on the other side. Gwen: So they trick you, too... Ben: Yeah. I'm beginning to think they all see us as stupid. Gwen: Nah, you ever seen how they act when our future selves are around? Ben: With one future, yeah. Gwen: You've only met one version of your future? Ben: No, I've met three, but I've only seen Paradox around the second. The third, my most likely future, I still haven't seen Paradox around, but I think he was talking about him before he sent me, well, here. Gwen: Interesting...do you remember anything else that Paradox said? Maybe he mentioned me, or something about what'll happen while you're here? Ben: Sorry, nothing. Gwen: Maybe if we use Clockwork. Ben: Or Streak. Gwen: Or both of them. Maybe we can open up a portal to where Paradox is, and see the past. Ben: But that's only if we knew where the portal came from. I've tried with Clockwork before, and Streak can't sense where a portal came from in the past. Gwen: Then you're stuck here, until whatever has to happen happens. Ben: Kinda like what happened when I met Rex Salazar. Gwen: I get what you're saying. I haven't met whoever that is, but I think I've met his counterpart. Ben: I guess everyone's got an alternate out there somewhere, even the guys who don't know that crosstime exist, like everyone in Rex's world. Gwen: Don't even get me started on Holiday. Every time I tried to explain crosstime to him, he went berserk. Ben: Him? Gwen: Oh, guess it was a woman in your version. Ben: Yeah. Gwen: Hmm...well, I guess while you're here we better wrap up Charmcaster. Ben: Send her to the Null Void? Gwen: We could do that...or we could send her to Ledger Domain with the illusion that all the mana has been stolen. Ben: How do you do that? Gwen: Nigester and Womanodite work well together. Ben: Womanodite? You mean, Anos? Gwen: Is that your Anodite? Because if yes, then I guess we don't share all of our alien names. You've got Nigester, right? Ben: Not exactly. Azmuth just removed him from the Omnitrix. After I killed Nightcaster-- Gwen: You killed somebody?! Ben: It was by accident; I didn't realize how powerful Nigester was against him! Gwen: You fought him with Nigester?! Are you crazy? You're lucky you weren't killed in the process. Ben: I understand why, but Azmuth didn't tell me about how I could've till after the battle. Gwen: Wait, why did Nightcaster go for Azmuth? Ben: Why not? He's the one who stopped him in the past after all. Gwen: No, he isn't. Zenith is. Ben: Zenith?! Zenith left Azmuth over a thousand years ago. Gwen: No, she didn't. Azmuth left her, and came back about a hundred years ago. Get your facts straight. Ben: Well that's not how it worked out where I come from. Azmuth made the Omnitrix and-- Gwen: Azmuth made the Omnitrix?! With his feeble mind? Ben: He may be old but he's the smartest Galvan in-- Gwen: 12 galaxies? Nope, that title belongs to Zenith, at least, here it does. Ben: I guess we can find a ton of issues to argue over what with all the differences between our two timelines. But it's not getting me out of yours and back to mine. Gwen: Right. So, I guess I should take you back to my house. Mom and Dad should be alright with you staying. After all, once in the past, they even let an alternate me stay there. Ben: Don't they hate me? Gwen: Hate you. Sometimes I think they like you even more than me since you're so normal. Ben: Normal? Wait, you mean the Ben here doesn't have anything special about him? Gwen: Well...you can fight? I don't know about you, but here, you're not the best with mana. Ben: I'm not, but I know a future mine that knows how to use magic, maybe it's possible you'll rub off on the me here enough for him to learn too? Gwen: I can't say, Ben. Let's just go home and try to deal with this when Grandpa and Kevin come over. Ben: At least those are two people I'm glad to hear about. Gwen: Race 'ya to my house? Assuming you know your way around Bellwood... Ben: Of course I do, but problem is...The Assault Omnitrix dial pops up, and he immediately smacks down on it before a hologram even appears. XLR8: Can you keep up? Ready, set (Gwen hurriedly activates her Omnitrix) Go! As Ben dashes off, Gwen smacks down on her Omnitrix, becoming Upgrade. As she runs in XLR8's direction, she transforms into her car, which exactly mirrors Ben's DX Mark 10, speeding after him. After only a couple minutes, XLR8 arrives at Gwen's house, or at least, where her house should be. Removing his visor, he analyzes it, seeing that it looks nothing like Gwen's in his timeline. Gwen's DX Mark 10 pulls up, screeching to a stop, with any green coloring flashing red as Gwen timed out. She gradually reverts to Upgrade, and finally reverts to human. With her wrist at her face, she sighs to see it's timed out. She approaches XLR8. Gwen: Why are you looking at my house like that? XLR8: It...it...it looks nothing like your house where I come from. Gwen: Oh. Yeah. After having it like this for the past few years, I totally forgot what my house looked like. Anyway, what I've done is created the perfect shield. I've made the house look entirely different, solely because the surface portion isn't really the house. The real bit of home is underground. XLR8: Gwen, even here you're don't cease to amaze. Show me inside? Gwen: Sure, but without my Omnitrix, I'm going to need to get in the old-fashioned way. Omnitrix, activate universal voice command. XLR8's Omnitrix beeps. Alright. Ben, come over (walks to a spot dead center in the middle of the stone path between the sidewalk and the front door) here. XLR8 races over, and stands directly over the spot. XLR8: What now? Gwen: I hope it recognizes this command. Omnitrix, proximity signal GH-002. Omnitrix: Access denied; unrecognized commands cannot be carried without Master Control. Gwen: Wait, you don't have Master Control, yet? XLR8: You do? Gwen: Sure. Zenith is nice like that. XLR8: I really have to talk to Azmuth about this... Gwen: I imagine. He's almost as annoying as Albedo. XLR8: Speaking of Albedo, what's he like here? Gwen: What do you mean? To tell you, I'd really have to know what his story is where you come from. XLR8: Well, when I was 11, I met him and he fixed Malware's helix, or something like that. And when I was 15, he tried to make his own Omnitrix and ended up copying my DNA, making that his default. Azmuth came and removed his Omnitrix's core after he got turned into a kind-of negative version of me, and well, he was sent to a prison somewhere in the Null Void. He's tried taking my cred as a hero before with a show called Super Ben Live, and I accidentally gave him the ability to transform into anything I have access to. To top that off, he's working with this guy, I don't remember his name, but he looked like a Benmummy, who I'm guessing you called "Gwenmummy," since we seem to just as unoriginal as each other. He's also working with Elena. Gwen: Well, he did basically the same thing to me, except replace every bit of you with me, and "Super Ben" with "Gwen 20." XLR8: Guess no matter where he is, he has the same plans. Do you know which Mummy I'm talking about? Gwen: Not really. I haven't heard of Elena or a Mummy working with Albedo. XLR8: Guess I'm better than you, because I'm fighting them right now. Gwen: Are you, now? So I'm guessing you took a well-deserved break to come here? XLR8: Well, no... Gwen: Then you just started learning about the team-up? XLR8: Well, maybe... Gwen: It's alright. I'll always be better than any Omnitrix-wielding Ben. XLR8: What was-- Gwen's Omnitrix (Gwen's voice): Recharged. Gwen: Perfect. Omnitrix, proximity signal GH-002, recognition key: Gwen Tennyson. Gwen's Omnitrix (Gwen's voice): Accepted. Beginning transport to Gwen's Home Version 2. A green energy sphere quickly grows and encompasses the two, afterwards transporting them elsewhere. The sphere shrinks, and they've disappeared. Now, we have entered Gwen's base and true home, first floor, which greatly resembles the headquarters we've seen many times before, home to Plumbers of all different species. XLR8 and Gwen are beamed inside. Gwen's Omnitrix: Transport complete. Would you like to-- Gwen: Yes. Gwen's Omnitrix: Report sent. XLR8: Report? Gwen: Yeah. It just sends Zenith the results of the transport, like how long it took and if there were any problems. Helps her squash any of the bugs. XLR8: Cool. So...Reverts to human. Ben: This place is your house, and your mom's fine with this? Gwen: Well, not really. She prefers the actual house upstairs, so we left the furniture up there for her to live like she wants. But a perfect copy of everything exists downstairs. Ben: Isn't this place supposed to be with Grandpa Max? Gwen: Kinda, but, just about everyone knew about Grandpa's headquarters. From Eon--you know, Eon, right? Ben: A little bit. He showed up with an old future of mine, the second Ben 10,000 I've met, and we fought him together, got rid of the Hands of Armaggedon and that stuff. Gwen: Similar things happened to me, but there's more to the story. Since there's no telling when Paradox'll show up to tell us why you're here, I think you've got time to spare for some storytelling, right? Ben: I guess. Just let me do a bit of multitasking. Slaps down on the Omnitrix, which does not have its tower popped out, and transforms into Ditto. He immediately splits in two. One crosses his legs as he sits to attentively listen to Gwen's story, while the other walks over to the Plumbers in the room and asks about their jobs. Ditto: Alright, go! Gwen: Alright, so, there's a timeline where you, or some version of an Omnitrix-wielding Ben, first fought Eon across any crosstime. He knew where the Hands were, and that was originally in the base under Max's Plumbing. Ditto: I did not know that. Gwen: Yeah, well, it's not really common knowledge. Well, you see, since he knew, we all knew that it just wasn't the safest place to leave the base in case anyone else in the galaxy knew of its location. Ditto: So...you moved this place? How? Upgrade? "Womanodite"? Gwen: No, we built it by hand. Just like apparently I'll have to build something by hand with many alternate versions of me in the future. Ditto: Sounds like Paradox feeds you a lot more info about your future, past, and the crosstimes than his does me. Gwen: Probably. You probably couldn't handle it. Ditto: Hey! I have emotions, you know! Gwen: Let's not act like 10-year olds, we're better than this. Now, got any other questions. Ditto jumps up onto his feet. Ditto: Yeah, I do, I wanna know why you think us Bens aren't as intelligent or as amazing heroes as you Gwens. I mean, have you girls saved the universe a million times? Gwen: Yeah, and once, I did it on my own. Ditto: Pfft, I've saved the universe on my own, too! Gwen: That's not what the research says. Ditto: Pfft, research, shmesearch. You can't possibly know everything about my life! That's creepy, cousin or not, especially with us technically not being related thanks to the fact that we're from different timelines. Gwen (holding her hand over her Omnitrix): You want to fight and see who's the best hero then? Ditto smacks the Omnitrix badge on his chest, pulling the other Ditto towards him, and transforms into Swampfire, immediately inflaming his hands, arousing the attention of nearby Plumbers. Swampfire: Sure, I've got charge to spare. Just as Gwen smacks down her Omnitrix, transforming into Four Arms, whose uniform still mirrors that of her 10-year old self's with her body being shaped more like Princess Looma's, a gleaming white portal appears and Professor Paradox comes rushing out of it. The portal closes after him, and he stops the battle before it starts. Professor Paradox: Please, stop, you two. This was not the intention of bringing you two together. Swampfire: Oh, yeah, then what was it? Professor Paradox: I can't say words do it justice to explain. You'll have to see it to believe it. Four Arms: To believe what? Professor Paradox: To believe the future of this timeline. Four Arms and Swampfire pull themselves back, Swampfire cutting off his flame, and Four Arms opening her fists. The two stare at each other for a moment, then turn to Paradox and nod. Assured that they were in for the mission ahead, Paradox opens his stopwatch and the three immediately flash away, leaving a disturbed group of Plumbers chattering about what had just unraveled. OF PART II 'Part III' area is covered in garbage, middle of nowhere, and in the background, the final remaining walls of lost buildings are left standing. Poles, presumably once topped off with traffic lights, are half as tall as they should be, their remainder having been destroyed by something. People limp through the streets, moaning, not a single person wearing a piece of clothing that's not ripped or stained. Robots which resemble humans walk where sidewalks once were, and possibly are still hidden, deep below the layers of trash. They hold advanced Ulam weapons, not only in-hand, but attached to their back. Managing to appear behind a wall, and under a not-so safe roof which was once a second floor, the trio of Paradox, Gwen as Four Arms, and Ben as Swampfire flash in. Paradox signals them to crouch down and whisper as they speak. Four Arms (whispering): Paradox, where are we? Paradox (whispering): Where did I say we were going? Four Arms: But...but how is this the future of Bellwood? Everything's...destroyed. Paradox: That's something you two are here to figure out, and deal with as soon as possible. Four Arms: But, how? Why can't you just do this yourself? Paradox: I have matters to attend to as it is. There's only one me, and I can't just depend on my counterparts to save the day. I must be off. Four Arms: But wai--'Paradox snaps his fingers and flashes away as Four Arms attempts to jump for him. Lying on her stomach on the trash, she's quick to get up after realizing her position. She stares at Swampfire as she gets up, who shakes as he points to something behind her.' What? She turns around to see a pair of the robots staring straight over their heads. She whispers to Swampfire: We have to stay absolutely silent, and walk away. Swampfire (whispering): Okay. Stepping backward without looking, he steps on a bag of chips. Oh, great. The two robots stare off above them for only a few more seconds, then turn down to look at them. Police Bot #1: Spotted Tetramand and Methanosian with Omnitrix energy signals. Sending report... Swampfire: Not on my watch. Flips into the air and lands drop-kicking Police Bot #1, which cracks the shell protecting a set of wires tangled together like a human brain. Sparks fly out, and the robot's red eyes shut off as it falls over on its back. Timber! Police Bot #2 pulls its gun up and points it at Swampfire's face. Do you really think you're going to get away with hitting me? Four Arms (standing up straight, a few inches taller than Swampfire): Hey, leave some pounding for me! Swampfire moves aside for her to punch Police Bot #2 in the face, but the robot dodges the attack, dropping its gun as it does so, leaving Four Arms to fall into the garbage once more. Swampfire then takes a swing at the back of its face when it's not looking, but it crouches to dodge, then swiftly punches Swampfire's ankles three times. Writhing in pain, he falls on his back. Four Arms gets up, wiping trash off her face. Four Arms: Alright, you may have 1-up'd me there, but you're not getting another opportunity. Police Bot #2: Tetramand defense failed. Guard 008 detected as inactive. Much like Ditto's cloning, the Police Bot splits into two. The new clone, #3, picks up #2's gun and points it at Four Arms, as #2's eyes begin to glow red, obviously charging a laser. Four Arms: Uhh, you guys wouldn't hit a lady would you? Police Bot #2 and #3 (in unison): Yes, we wou--'From nowhere, someone in a white cloak swoops down, knocking #2 over onto #3 on the ground. The two's "brain shells" pop off like #1's and sparks fly once more. Their eyes shut off, but as #2's does so, the sound of its laser beginning to fire is heard. #2, even down on the ground, faces Four Arm's feet.' Cloaked Figure (young-adult female voice): Watch out! Four Arms: Huh? Four Arms turns to see the broken #2's head about to fire. She jumps over to the head, picks up the head, and tosses it a few miles into the air. Even with the height, it begins to fall, and just as the Cloaked Figure and Four Arms begin to fear that it will blow them up when it falls, it blows up just a few miles off the ground. Four Arms and Cloaked Figure (in unison): Whew. Four Arms: Thanks for the help back there. Mind me asking who you are? Cloaked Figure: Sure, as soon as we get him (facing Swampfire, lying on his back on the garbage) somewhere safe. Four Arms: There're safe places in this place? Cloaked Figure: Yeah, but it's a way's off from here. You up to the walk? Four Arms: Sure, but maybe there's a faster way. Smacks her Omnitrix, transforming into XLR8. The difference in her appearance, compared to Ben's, just allows her to mirror Helen's appearance. Cloaked Figure: A Kineceleran? Nice. XLR8: Not even going to ask how I'm able to transform? Cloaked Figure: I'm totally aware of how. XLR8: Alright, as soon as we get Ben to wherever you live, you're telling me who you are. Cloaked Figure: I promise. XLR8 picks up Swampfire over her back, then rushes over to the girl. She's about Gwen's height, which XLR8 realizes only as she is able to pick her up. XLR8: Where to? Cloaked Figure: Already programmed it into your Omnitrix. XLR8: Wait, what?! Looks down at her Omnitrix to see it beeping. Gwen's Omnitrix: Turn left. XLR8: You have quite the explaining to do. XLR8, with Swampfire and the cloaked figure over on her back, rushes down the trash-covered streets, over a rickety wooden bridge, and over to a gas station. Gwen's Omnitrix: You have arrived. XLR8: Since when did this thing give directions like a GPS? Cloaked Figure: Sorry, thought you'd like to have instructions like that. I'll turn it off. XLR8: Stop touching this thing. Puts the figure down on her feet. She walks over to the one door left protecting the station and knocks on it. A small opening appears, with eyes peering out at the three. Figure Behind the Door: We're not buying; go away. Cloaked Figure: It's me. It's me.She partially removes the cloak from her head, revealing her orange hair to person inside. Figure Behind the Door: Oh, you know you're being followed, right? Cloaked Figure (covering her head a bit more): Yeah, they're...family. Figure Behind the Door: But, how? Cloaked Figure: I'll explain everything to everyone as soon as you let me inside. Figure Behind the Door: Alright. Whatever covered the opening in the door is slid back on, and the door opens up. The cloaked figure turns around and gestures XLR8 to come inside. XLR8 rushes in past the cloaked figure, entering into a poorly-lit room with three tables and an empty yet rather clean stage in the front. The floor is riddled with trash, but not so much as outside. There are two people inside, one in a cloak with a flame design on it but with the cloak removed from her head to reveal her face which greatly resembles Eunice's except with black hair; and the other a male with green skin, in a ripped white sweater with black hair, and ripped jeans. While the girl sits at a table in a nice little wooden chair, the boy pulls a black-seated stool up to the table, followed by two more stools for the cloaked figure and XLR8, and one wooden chair to seat Swampfire so he doesn't fall off. XLR8 puts Swampfire down on the wooden chair, then reverts to human. She walks up to her own stool next to Swampfire's unconscious body, and to make sure Ben has as much charge as possible, she smacks Swampfire's Omnitrix symbol, reverting him to human. The cloaked figure approaches her own stool, and seats herself. The green boy and the flaming-cloaked girl look on in awe at Ben and Gwen. The cloaked figure removes the cloak from her head, revealing a face much like Gwen's own. Gwen: W--who are you? Cloaked Figure: Mom. Mom, I'm your daughter, your future daughter, Jennifer-Mercedes Tennyson, after your best friend in the future. And these are my friends. Pointing to the green boy. This is Mitch, but we call him Pitch because of his powers. Pointing to the flaming-cloaked girl. This is Inferna, we call her Flare. She puts her hand down, and now faces Gwen. She hugs her while still sitting, and Gwen, albeit unsure of the situation, hugs her back. Jennifer quickly withdraws herself. Jennifer-Mercedes: Sorry. Umm, my friends call me Jen, or Sorcera because of my natural powers. But, like you, I'm not bound just to magic. She pulls the cloak off from her left arm, revealing an Assault Omnitrix which appears to have no upgrades added to it. Gwen: But, but then where am I? Jen: I...She drops her head as she relieves the painful truth about Gwen. I don't know. You went missing years ago. Gwen: How old am I now? Jen: 47, 48 tops. Gwen: You don't know? Jen: When your mother leaves you when you're only 12, it's difficult to remember. 12 years might be a lot, but it still wasn't enough for me to really know. The past few years without you, I've tried to forget you, but it's impossible. After Dad died, you were all I had. Gwen: Dad? I'm married, to who? Jen: Sorry, I can't tell you; I can tell Uncle Ben, though. Gwen: Why not? Why only Ben? Jen: Well, if I tell him, I stop existing. It changes the future, and I want to be your daughter, and I know that one day I'll find you and that all will be well again. I can't tell you, Mom, but you will get married. Gwen: So, what's happened, what's caused all this? Jen: Flare, help me answer this...Flare nods, and walks off behind the stage curtains and comes out a moment later with a large piece of paper. She lays it down in front of the now closed door. Let's do this. Flare nods once more, and immediately her whole body goes up in flames, and she begins to levitate. Floating, she twists and turns as she blasts balls of fire or short beams at locations on the paper, leaving burns through it. After a few minutes of painting with fire, she slowly drops on her feet, gradually reverting to her human likeness. As she steps back away from the burning paper, Jen uses a spell to dismiss the remaining smoke. Jen: Tur-bo! The smoke clears out entirely, revealing what appears to be a Galvanic Mechamorph on the piece of paper, painted in rips straight through the paper. The Mechamorph wears a necklace, which at the very end, features a floppy disk-esque piece. Jen: This is our ruler, the one who took over Earth. Gwen: An Upgrade? Who is he? Jen: His name's D-Soft. He's the one who...She turns away once more, audibly weeping out of Gwen's sight. She turns back after a moment of wiping her eyes. When she does so, visible is her makeup washing down her eyes. He's the one who... Pitch: He's the one who got rid of her dad. He fought in the war that could've saved the humans from all this. Like her Dad asked, you and Sorcera were on another planet being taken care of by Galvans. Flare: We don't know that he's gone. No one's seen him since the war. He might be one of those people who were turned into one of D-Soft's slaves, and given armor like the robots outside so no one can tell people or robots apart. Gwen: So, maybe I'm here to stop him. Jen: Maybe, but not even I've been able to, us three together, even. Gwen: Wait, how old are you? Jen: I'm 20 years old. Gwen: Omnitrix, chronal warp time, sub code F. Gwen's Omnitrix: 30 years from designated present. Last hub update was on-- Gwen: I don't need that, thanks. Alright, I'm ready to help, however I can. Jen: Thanks, mom. How old are you now? Gwen: Younger than you. I'm 17. Pitch: Whoa, Jen. You're older than your Ma. Jen: Not here I'm not. Gwen's Omnitrix (deep, disguised voice): At last, I've found you, Gwen Tennyson. It took me 8 years to find your Omnitrix's signature, and now you've made yourself useful and given up. A batch of my best men and robots will be out to get you shortly. Have fun. Pitch: What?! She's going to get us caught! Flare: Even worse, we're going to lose our home! Pitch: Look what you did, Jen! You brought your mom here and now we're compromised! Jen: No, I didn't mean to, I-- Pitch: It's too late, now. Let's get out of here. He knows this place is ours by now. Pitch walks up to the door to open it, and turns the knob. Just as he does so, the door is blasted off its hinges with Pitch holding onto it, him and the door being thrown across to the other side of the room. Outside the door, at least a dozen robots are visible, and behind them, one tank and robots who have Hulk-like armor. Flare: We're toast. Police Bot #4: This is Officer 1043. We are asking you to peacefully leave this base and hand it over to the Lord D-Soft. Do you accept this offer? Jen: No, we don't. Police Bot #4 (deep, intimidating voice): Then prepare to be eliminated. The sound of each and every robot pulling out their guns and beginning to prep their lasers can be heard. The tank outside can be heard rolling over the garbage. OF PART III 'Part IV' Characters *Ben Tennyson *Gwen Tennyson *Professor Paradox *Azmuth *Karin Frikton *Anchorwomen Whitney Villains *Nightcaster *Charmcaster Aliens Used (by Ben) *Nightcaster *Obsorber *Ditto (x2) *Echo Echo (briefly) *Ultimate Echo Echo *Rath *XLR8 *Swampfire (by Gwen) *Upgrade *Terraspin *XLR8 *Obsorber *Womanodite *Four Arms Trivia *The episode will sit as a 6-parter, the second (following Hit and Miss). Category:Episodes Category:Ben 10: Alien Universe Chronology Category:BiA Exclusive Episodes